Portsmouth Preview

By Mark Heys
February 8 2008

Bolton Wanderers will be hoping to build on last weekend's 2-0 success over their Premier League rivals Reading when they welcome Harry Redknapp's European chasing Portsmouth side to the Reebok Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The game at the Madejski Stadium just over a week ago saw Wanderers pick up their first away league win of the season and manager Gary Megson will be hopeful that his side can follow it up with a win against Pompey.

Not since March 2007 have Bolton managed back to back wins in the league but they are going in search of their third straight home victory against Portsmouth having picked up maximum points in front of their own fans in the last two seasons.

Pompey have beaten Bolton already this season in the reverse fixture at Fratton Park but their only joy at the Reebok in the top flight came in November 2004 when they won by a singular Arjan De Zeeuw goal.

Wanderers have a doubt over Joey O'Brien (hamstring) for this game and Abdoulaye Meite is still away on international duty in what is otherwise a fully fit squad.

Former Portsmouth players Andy O'Brien and Matthew Taylor are likely to face their old club for the first time having completed moves to Bolton earlier on in the season whilst defender Gary Cahill is set for his home debut.

Pompey could have a large number of their African contingent back in action after they served in the African Cup of Nations. John Utaka, Nwankwu Kanu, Papa Bouba Diop and Sulley Muntari are all in line to make a first team return for their visit to the North West.

New signings Milan Baros and Jermain Defoe are once again expected to lead the line for the South Coast club having started in last weekend's draw with Chelsea.

LAST TIME WE MET:

18/08/2007 PORTSMOUTH 3 (Kanu, Utaka, Taylor (P)) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Anelka)

BOLTON: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Nicky Hunt (Heidar Helguson), Abdoulaye Meite, Gerald Cid, Jlloyd Samuel, Andranik Teimourian (Christian Wilhelmsson), Kevin Nolan (Daniel Braaten), Gary Speed, Mikel Alonso, El-Hadji Diouf, Nicolas Anelka

SUBS NOT USED: James Sinclair, Ali Al-Habsi (GK)

POMPEY: David James, Djimi Traore, Sylvain Distin, Hermann Hreidarsson, Matthew Taylor, Gary O'Neil (Martin Crainie), Richard Hughes, Sean Davis, Benjani Mwaruwari (David Nugent), Nwankwo Kanu (Arnold Mvuemba), John Utaka

SUBS NOT USED: Richard Duffy, Jamie Ashdown (GK)

PLAYED FOR BOTH:

Brian Bromley, John Gregory, Trevor Hebbard, Russell Hoult, Andy O'Brien, Paul Ritchie, Matthew Taylor, David Thompson

DID YOU KNOW?:

Portsmouth have submitted plans to move to a new stadium away from Fratton Park. The new venue is set to open in 2011 and will house 36,000 people.

Matthew Taylor's only goal of the current season came for Portsmouth in the final minute of their game with Bolton in mid-August.

Pompey where one of the first Premier League clubs to welcome foreign investment, firstly with Milan Mandaric and now Alexandre Gaydamak

The Portsmouth youth team coach Ian Woan had a trial with Bolton in the summer of 2000 after leaving Nottingham Forest.